Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams—who some have pegged as the best QB prospect in a decade—is hoping to become one of the few. He’s looking to become the first player in the franchise to reach 4,000 passing yards in a season. With one remaining game in the season, Williams has eclipsed 3,730 passing yards. Yet, he finds himself mere inches away from breaking a milestone that has eluded the Bears since the day the team was founded. Indeed, only 237 players have ever completed this feat in NFL history. This season, even more impressive quarterbacks such as Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford have followed suit.
The Bears have historically never had much luck in finding a franchise-level quarterback that can help execute this kind of winning formula. Erik Kramer’s 3,838 passing yards in a single season—set in 1995—still stand as the franchise record. As Williams nears this milestone, he considers what it would mean to be the first player to ever go over 4,000 yards.
In 100—however many years—it’s never been done, so it represents a breakthrough. Williams stated.
From the very beginning of the season, Williams has looked like a player who will become a star. He threw for a season-high 330 yards, including 6 yards on the final play of the close 42-38 game against the 49ers in San Francisco on Sunday. He’s gone over 270 passing yards in seven games this season. At 233.1 passing yards per game (12th in the NFL), he’s certainly no slouch. Williams has made a habit of scoring touchdowns. He’s found the end zone through the air at least three times in each of his last four outings.
Williams is hungry to become the first rookie to do so. Beyond that, he wants to establish a precedent for future quarterbacks in Chicago. When meeting with the Bears’ ownership on a predraft visit, he posed an interesting question. He was tired of hearing that no player had ever thrown for 4,000 yards in a season playing for the franchise.
“I don’t exactly remember what they told me or what the answer was, but a lot of it comes from the weather and all these different things,” he explained. “I think they ended up choosing right. It’s what I have enough of an arm to throw the wind away, and God blessed me with that.”
Though Williams has one eye firmly fixed on the future, he insists that team success is what still motivates him most. His teammate at the time, Justin Johnson, helped solidify this belief. He pointed out that 4,000 yards would be great, but games won are the only stat that counts.
Johnson also said that, on this point, he would have to side with your humble narrator. Our No. 1 goal is to come away with a victory in this ballgame! “Whatever that takes, that’s our goal. Time will tell, but we look forward to seeing how this plays out for the rest of the year. That’s a tertiary goal, if you will.
The 4,000-yard threshold isn’t sacred ground either Johnson sought to diminish its impact by calling it an “arbitrary number.” He noted how few franchises have never had a QB throw for 5,000 yards (much less 4,000).
This franchise has never had a 4,000-yard passer. I have faith that Caleb will be the first to do it,” Johnson continued.
Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, cited Williams’ impact in helping to transform the Bears’ offense. He noted in particular how Williams has infused the team with a new medicine as far as their style of play.
With this season nearing the finish line, all eyes are on Williams. He certainly sounds primed to blaze a new trail for the Bears. With just one game left, the excitement is palpable. Fans and analysts wait with bated breath to see whether he’ll do it and in doing so, seal his own legacy and place in Chicago sports history.
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